Moravian Heritage 1
Bethabara Moravian - the House of Passage, Oldest Moravian Church / Settlement in North Carolina!
The Moravian Story
The settlement of Bethabara in what is today Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was founded on November 17, 1753 when fifteen Moravian brethren arrived after walking from Pennsylvania. The Moravians, or Unitas Fratrum (United Brethren), were German-speaking Protestants. As followers of Jan Hus, a Bohemian heretic who was burned at the stake in 1415, the Moravians are acknowledged as the first Protestants, pre-dating the Lutherans by 100 years. Bethabara became the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina. It was the beginning of a series of Moravian settlements on the 100,000-acre tract that the Moravians had purchased on the Carolina frontier.
Bethabara ("House of Passage") was a center for religion, governance, trade, industry, culture, education, and the arts. The Moravians constructed over 75 buildings during the first 20 years of the settlement's existence. During the French and Indian War (1753-1762), Bethabara and its two forts served as defensive centers for regional settlers and a supply depot for the Catawba allies of the British.
The settlement was called Bethabara, meaning House of Passage, because it was meant to be a temporary settlement until the central town could be established. It wasn't long before others on the frontier learned of the wealth of skilled tradesmen available in the new settlement. Within three years this small band had grown to 65 people and their first isolated single cabin had become a thriving village.